Immigration Part 2: So close, yet so far

A Mexican naval vessel patrols the waterways around the northern-most Coronado Island. The Mexican Coronado Islands have been used both as a navigational tool for smugglers and a waypoint. There have been documented cases of immigrants becoming stranded on the islands by coyotes for various reasons. The Mexican Navy claims they've always had the lookouts and the maritime patrols have stayed the same. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

THE NEW FRONTIER

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Pacific Ocean is the latest frontier in human smuggling, shifting the battle over illegal immigration to California's coast.

As the federal government tightens patrol of land routes once popular with immigrants sneaking from Mexico into California and Arizona, the sea has become the latest method for people trying to cross illegally into the United States from Mexico. Apprehensions along California's coastline have nearly tripled since officials first tracked the phenomenon in 2008.

Orange County Register reporter Cindy Carcamo traveled to Mexico and Guatemala, asking people who have become part of the sometimes deadly phenomenon how and why they do it or, in some cases, why their loved ones were willing to risk their lives.

Ariel Del Valle and about a dozen of his Mexican countrymen bobbed in a fishing boat lost in a dark ocean that appeared to meld with the night sky. The last leg of their journey to cross illegally into the United States was threatening to become their undoing.

At a distance, the 30-year-old from Aguas Calientes, Mexico, bound for his wife and three children who live in Huntington Beach, spotted the outlines of four islands and a blinking light that appeared to originate from a lighthouse. They seemed so close, but Ariel knew better. These silhouettes were too far, the water too cold.

"I'll likely die before I reach those islands," he thought.

Still, throughout the night – in between the crashing waves that rocked the sinking "panga" – the islands taunted him with thoughts of refuge. These were the Coronado Islands, a quad of tarantula- and rattlesnake-infested rocks that serve as a navigational point of reference for smugglers looking to move cargo – drugs or humans – illegally to California beaches.

The largely uninhabitable islands, on the northwest coast of Baja California and about 19 miles south of the U.S. border, have been at the mercy of those trying to avoid detection from illicit activity since the Prohibition Era, when bootleggers used the islands as a meeting point during alcohol runs.

Corroded concrete pillars on the southernmost island are all that's left of a casino that once hosted mobsters, such as Al Capone, and Hollywood elite. The barren rock now serves as an installation for the Mexican Navy. At least 14 military officials and lighthouse keeper Mario Mendoza Beltran – better known as "Don Mario" – stand guard at all times.

ISLANDS OF REFUGE?

Mexican Navy officials insist that it would be nearly impossible to disembark on any of the islands and say they've never had calls for rescue on the Coronados.

Most are uninhabitable, especially the northernmost of the four islands, they say.

On a recent visit, Mexican Navy Capt. Javier Jara Rivera pointed to the rough terrain and jagged edges of the island from a speedboat going about 20 knots as it circled the islands.

"See?" Rivera said. "You wouldn't survive the night there."

However, local fishermen and Rafael Hernandez, a San Diego man who visits the islands to drop off water and food for stranded immigrants, say they've been to the islands many times without much trouble.

Hernandez, who heads a volunteer search-and-rescue team called the "Desert Angels," said he's come across people left abandoned on the northernmost island by smugglers spooked by border agents. As the group's name implies, most of the work done by the "Angels" has taken place in the desert. However, in recent years, as ocean crossing has become common, they've also focused on helping people stranded at sea or on the islands. The stories they've heard are horrible.

Often, smugglers will leave groups after dropping them on shore with a single jug of water and a promise to return, Hernandez said.

A Mexican naval vessel patrols the waterways around the northern-most Coronado Island. The Mexican Coronado Islands have been used both as a navigational tool for smugglers and a waypoint. There have been documented cases of immigrants becoming stranded on the islands by coyotes for various reasons. The Mexican Navy claims they've always had the lookouts and the maritime patrols have stayed the same. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mario Mendoza Beltran (AKA Don Mario) has operated a lighthouse on one of the Coronado Islands for six years and says he's heard stories about smugglers landing on the islands, but has never seen one. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Coronado Islands off the coast of Baja, Mexico have been used both as a navigational tool for smugglers and a waypoint. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Pictured here is a casino that no longer exists on the southern-most of the Coronado islands off Baja California. The casino once hosted mobsters such as Al Capone and the Hollywood elite. All that's left are concrete pillars. The island now serves as an installation for the Mexican Navy. Photo courtesy Mexican Navy
According to the Mexican Navy, these corroded pillars protruding from the shores of a Coronado Island, where the Navy is now stationed, is all that remains of a casino operation that once existed on the island. They say it was run by Al Capone. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mexican sailors patrol the coast off of Baja, Mexico. The Mexican Navy said that their goal is to rescue people along their coastline, not to stop human smuggling to the U.S. That's not their job. However, the Mexican Navy has worked aggressively to curb illegal maritime drug smuggling operations. That is part of their job. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mexican sailors patrol the coast off of Baja, Mexico. The Mexican Navy said that their goal is to rescue people along their coastline, not to stop human smuggling to the U.S. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A Mexican military lookout monitors the seas from a perch on the southernmost Coronado Island. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Mexican Navy says this tiny spit of beach is the only place safe for boaters to land on the Coronado Islands, but it is off-limits and located directly below a naval lookout station. They say they've never encountered smugglers on the island. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A communications officer sets up a radio scanner to track traffic on the seas off Baja, Mexico. The Mexican Navy patrols the waters as more of a Coast Guard/maritime safety body than a combat force. Their mission is to rescue people off their coastline and combat drug smuggling. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Mexican Navy Capt. Javier Jara Rivera rides aboard a small Mexican Navy patrol vessel between Ensenada, Mexico and the Coronado Islands. Their mission is to rescue people off their coastline and combat drug smuggling. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Capt. Luis F. Baños delivers a briefing on maritime smuggling enforcement and maritime safety at the Naval base in Ensenada, Mexico. The Mexican Navy says they've worked aggressively to curb illegal maritime smuggling operations because the practice is so dangerous for immigrants. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
There have been documented cases of immigrants becoming stranded on the Coronado Islands by coyotes for various reasons. The Mexican Navy claims they've always had the lookouts and the maritime patrols have stayed the same. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Coronado Islands off the coast of Baja, Mexico have been used both as a navigational tool for smugglers and a waypoint. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Coronado Islands off the coast of Baja, Mexico have been used both as a navigational tool for smugglers and a waypoint. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Coronado Islands off the coast of Baja, Mexico have been used both as a navigational tool for smugglers and a waypoint. There have been documented cases of immigrants becoming stranded on the islands by coyotes for various reasons. The Mexican Navy claims they've always had the lookouts and the maritime patrols have stayed the same. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Coronado Islands off the coast of Baja, Mexico have been used both as a navigational tool for smugglers and a waypoint. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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